ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Given New $148.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target upped by Susquehanna from $144.00 to $148.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the energy producer’s stock.

COP has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $108.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $126.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,042 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 3,080 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 70,612 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $8,988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $385,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 283,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,131,000 after purchasing an additional 39,237 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.